Istanbul Stock Exchange Builds Blockchain Database

Turkey’s foremost stock exchange has announced the development of a new blockchain-based database. The Borsa Istanbul Stock Exchange said yesterday (Wednesday 5th Sept) that the system would be used for the storage of sensitive information and the transfer of documents. The platform will be put in place to help meet upgraded Know Your Customer (KYC) policies and strengthen the overall security of sensitive data.

In a press release, the Borsa Istanbul said, “With the blockchain-based project, which was prepared by Borsa Istanbul IT team, information in the customer database of Borsa Istanbul, Istanbul Clearing, Settlement and Custody Bank (Takasbank), and the Central Securities Depository of Turkey’s (MKK) has been synchronized.”

Turkey is one of the world’s foremost adopters of blockchain technology, and this latest high-profile move from the Borsa Istanbul will only serve to bring more media attention to blockchain within the country. Back in August, a university blockchain centre was established – the Istanbul Blockchain and Innovation Center (BlockchainIST Center) – at Bahçeşehir University. There are also a number of exciting startups coming out of the country, such as Swiss-based Colendi, the micro credit scoring platform built on blockchain, which is spearheaded by Turkey’s Bulent Tekmen.

There has also been ongoing talk of a potential national cryptocurrency – dubbed the Turcoin. In fact, it had appeared that such a coin had been created and legitimately released as a currency backed by the Turkish government – but this was exposed as a Ponzi scheme last month. Several thousand people are still out of pocket, waiting to see if they will receive refunds.

The Borsa Istanbul is certainly far from the first major stock exchange to contemplate the use of blockchain in its systems – the Shanghai Stock Exchange was reportedly looking into this several months ago – but few have actually taken the leap and adopted it yet, as research continues into logistics and security.